This application relates generally to flexible vacuum packages, and more particularly to flexible vacuum packages for inner tubes for pneumatic tires, such as bicycle tires.
It is a common occurrence in bicycling for a tire to become punctured, thereby necessitating its replacement or repair. Thus, bicyclists frequently carry a spare inner tube with them on a ride in case of an emergency flat tire. Current packaging for bicycle inner tubes is typically a cardboard box, with the bicycle tube commonly being folded up in the interest of compactness. While such packaging may provide some measure of protection to the inner tube from damage, it never the less still leaves something to be desired from that standpoint.
Boxes which are sufficiently rugged to prevent injury to an inner tube are commonly too heavy or bulky to be carried on a bike for many riders. Thus in order to keep weight down, many riders commonly carry a spare inner tube unprotected by any protective packaging. If the rider does keep the inner tube in its protective box, and if that box should be impacted sufficiently to injure or otherwise compromise the inner tube, that fact may not be apparent from viewing the condition of the box. Thus, a seemingly intact box, may have been impacted in such a manner that the inner tube within it has been punctured or otherwise compromised.